


World War Corona

by SkyeTops



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Blood, F/F, Female Lead, Firefights, Graphic, One Shot, The Tangled Series War AU, War AU, tragic end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:27:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24633802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyeTops/pseuds/SkyeTops
Summary: Corona fights in the war on the side of the Allies, and so does Rapunzel. Though she leads with positivity, and hope, but that may be her undoing.
Relationships: Rapunzel/Euegene (Mentioned)
Kudos: 5





	World War Corona

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MsJay](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsJay/gifts).



> This will depict firearms, war, explosions, gore, and death. If these offend you, or make you uncomfortable, please do not read.

War on either side of the coin was harsh, and gruesome. No matter if you fought for justice and peace, or to control lands, there was blood to be paid. Domestic blood. The Kingdom of Corona shared that burden with many others, caught in the midst of another world war. They crusaded for peace, yet were met with bloodshed. Even though making an allegiance with the Allied powers strengthened their forces, they still were on the brink of eradication. 

Ever since Corona joined the allied cause, the Princess was given the status of acting general, in hopes to boost morale within the ranks. Though unorthodox at the time, no one seemed to dispute the idea of having a woman as commanding officer, especially not one of royalty, of course It would be treason to say otherwise. Even though Corona loved their Princess, the people disliked her lack of military experience and knowledge, but she believed in something, and hoped for it more than anyone. A better tomorrow. And that's what people needed now, a cause, a hope. Though thankfully, her trusted advisor helped the Princess many a time with strategies, and never once steered her wrong.

The distant sound of explosions echoed through a desolate town, shaking the old stone walls that held together empty homes. Unsettling as it might have been, the brave folks that remained here didn't give it much thought, for in this time, it would be far stranger not to hear such comotions. Coronian soldiers have been fortifying this town for the last few days, laying fences and concrete, trying to create a bastion for Corona on the war front. The occupied town had very few soldiers in retrospect, only holding a hundred or so men, though the exact number of soldiers was unknown. It was hard to keep an accurate headcount truthfully, for war kept marching its heavy boots, and good men kept dying for what they believed in.The small forces from the Coronian occupied town were getting reinforcements from Great Britain, but to their dismay, would take a week to get there. No one believed they would hold out that long, well, besides one person. 

A blonde woman sat at an old red oak table, accompanied by her ravenlocked Advisor, Cassandra. The table was a mess, strung about were documents and loose papers, as well as the occasional bit of rubble from the crumbled ceiling. 

“I don’t know what to do” 

Rapunzel softly said, pulling her face into the palms of her hands. She was the ray of sunshine, the Princess of Peace, surly she had to be happy all the time, right? Cassandra scooted her chair in closer to Rapunzel, pulling a worried hand over to the Princess’ arm.

“I know it can be hard, Princess. But we need to be strong. For us, for Corona”

Cassandra reassured before slumping back into her chair. Rapunzel cracked a small smile, looking up from her hands.

“Cass, ‘Rapunzel’ is fine. We’re /friends/ , equals”

Rapunzel chuckled for a moment, finding a little bit of happiness in the situation. 

“Forgive me your highness, I’m your advisor and personal guard, done. We shouldn’t worry about ‘formalities’ now”

Cass’ face fell onto a small smile, before her gaze scanned the papers in front of them. Status reports, most of them, though a few orders from Corona as well. Her hazel eyes darted to a tan parchment, her digits picking it up delicately. 

“ One week. One damn week. They couldn’t help /faster/ ?”

The woman said through gritted teeth, though, the Princess did not share such passion

“One week, is /reasonable/ Cass. They are sending a whole battalion with enough supplies for months. Months…”

Rapunzel trailed off for a brief moment. Would they be at war for so long? She shook her head slightly, regaining her thought

“...One hour will turn into one day, and that day will change to a week. It’ll be here before we know it”

She beamed, though her face slumped back to a worried look, her voice cracking with the next few words

“I just… I just don't know how we will manage, we’ve lost so many already…”

Her fingers began to fiddle with a ring on her off hand, twisting it slightly. It was her engagement ring, or it would have been if it wasn’t for the attack three months ago. Her tears began to break free, but she regained her composure, and cleared her throat. 

“I know what you mean, but I know /my/ plan if they come anywhere near”

Cassandra said, pulling out her Browning FN and aiming the emptied weapon towards the wall. Typical, Rapunzel thought, but her enthusiasm is just what she needed, making the general smile once again.

The blonde began to unbutton the heavy coat, letting it hang off the back of her chair, letting her breathe easily. The blackened tie fell on a white row of buttons, the overshirt dirtied with grime and blood. It wasn’t hers, but that was both good and bad

“Right right. Lots of Saporians, versus your little pea shooter”

“Like /you’ll/ do anything, Princess. Have you ever even fired a gun?”

Cassandra laughed, holstering her pistol before laying a hand on her Enfield. 

“Actually…. Why /are/ you here. I mean, you don’t even have proper weapons training…”

The woman fell on a softer tone, looking to her commanding officer. 

“The people need a cause, Cassandra. If they see their General, their /princess/ here, in the muck of it, they will fight twice as hard. And you know as well as I do, we need fighters.” 

The Advisor nodded, racking the bolt back on her enfield just enough to check if it was loaded. 

“Yeah you’re telling me your highness. But if you... die… What will that do to Corona?”

The air between them fell still, an eerie quiet in their surroundings. Though, the soft crumble of a distance boom cut the silence. Advisor Cassandra recoiled slightly with a flinch as the blonde woman spoke

“If I die, Cassandra. Promise me this”

Rapunzel’s head softly raised to meet the others' gaze.

“ Make my death the cause, the martyr.”

Her grim words pierced Cassandra’s heart like an arrowhead, chilling her to the bone. Rapunzel couldn’t die, she couldn’t, wouldn’t let that happen. But this was war. And while people passed in their sleep, there were people getting massacred. 

“I...ahem, Understood”

Cassandra said simply, though she needed to change the subject before her heart fell too far on macabre ‘what if’s’ .

“Ahem- , so , nice to hear the explosions die down, huh?”

It was a squirly attempt, but a sure one. Though a curious brow raised on Cassandra’s face, silence was strange, but maybe it was the lull in the storm.

“ That /is/ nice. Kinda like the rain when you try to read a book”

Cassandra was listening to her Princess, of course, but her attention was elsewhere. There was /no/ noise, not the wind through the streets, or the chirping of birds. It raised the hair on the back of her head.

“Cassandra?”

“Something’s not right…”

She responded in a hush tone, trying to listen for something, anything.

“Cass its ok-”

The Princess’ words were cut short, a shockwave of great force shattered through the wall, sending the Princess and company hurling towards the inward wall. 

“Augh!”

Rapunzel grunted after a moment, letting her body recoil from the pain as she rolled to her knees.

“..Princess?... P-princess!” 

Cassandra shouted, finally coming to. Pain was something she was comfortable with, this wasn’t the first explosion she had survived. With a hearty grunt, Cass sifted through the rubble with haste, her anxious hands reached for her rifle before rushing to Rapunzel’s side. She seemed okay, despite her hands filling with blood, the shattered glass on the ground was to blame for that. 

“Are you okay?”

“Im- Im okay-, are you? What- going on”

Rapunzel tried to stand, putting her weight on Cassandra's arm, her bloody palms printing onto the sleeve. 

“Artillery shell, it could have been a lucky fucking shot, or-”

The sounds of fighting drowned her words, an artillery shell impacting a vacant home two blocks down, destroying the south side in the blink of an eye. Shouting and small arms fire followed, seemingly coming from all angles.

“- Seporia”

“Seporia!? We should be /weeks/ ahead of them”

“Bunch of Bastards, biggest thorn in my side”

Cassandra gritted through her teeth, taking a stripper clip from her front pocket.

“We need to evacuate, your highness.”

Rapunzel’s worried gaze fell on to Cassandra

“But our people, what of them ?!”

The blonde woman shouted, a worried snark in her tone. Cassandra shook her head harshly, pushing the rounds into the mag before racking the bolt forward, the slim metal clip falling to the ground with a clank. 

“My order is for /you/ alone. Corona can't lose you, and neither can I” 

Cassandra shouted back, finally feeling the blood sprawl from her forehead down her cheek. The pain was almost unbearable, numbing her eyes with every passing second. No matter how much she hurt, that didn't matter. What mattered was the Princess’ safety. And right now, it seemed no where was safe. 

A moment of quiet fell between them, as much as it could have with all this noise, before Rapunzel spoke.

“What’s the plan?”

Cassandra stepped to the misshapen remnants of a windowframe, leaning her shoulder onto it to get her bearings, rifle at the ready 

“We have our trucks on the south side, that’s our safest bet. Not as fast as a bike, but they can take a beating, and with this firepower? A bike wouldn’t stand a chance.”

The Princess agreed in silence, falling in behind the ravenlocked companion, pressing her own weight onto the mangled wall, wiping her palms on the side of her pants

Two Coronian soldiers darted from an alleyway, full sprint onto the open road, their boots clattering on the cobblestone street. They could have been great help, if it wasn’t for what they were running from. Two others burst behind the fleeing, drabbed in Soporian infantry uniforms. The sound of MP-38s rang through the street, the Corinian men falling upon the stone as their bodies festered with bullet holes, dead in mere seconds. It made the hair on Cassandra’s neck stand on end; they were being slaughtered. Killed with their backs turned. Destroyed without a single thought about them or the families they would be leaving behind.

The Saporians kept guard, sweeping their machine guns across the street, looking and waiting for the next set of targets to pop out. 

Cassandra breathed out softly bringing the rifle stock to her shoulder, mounting the side of the gun on the windowsill before resting her cheek. 

“Cass, they are people too-”

The princess whispered, finally seeing the men come into view. Thankfully, they hadn’t spotted the gun barrel that poked from the window.

“-people who won’t hesitate to kill you, and me. Why should I do the same?”

Cassandra coldly said, taking the safety off. The Princess backed off from her stand on the situation, for it wouldn’t help. Cass was too stubborn, and the ongoing threat was too high to change anyone's mind.

A sharp crack rang in the Princess’ ears as Cassandra pulled the trigger. Even with all this time at the warfront, Rapunzel’s ears hadn’t adjusted to gunfire, especially not at this range. The Soparian on the left fell to his knees as his gun clattered with the dry stone, a clean hole bored out the back of his skull, dead. The other two hastily readied their weapons, already sweeping those guns towards where Cass was.

“There!”

One of the men shouted out, pulling his gun to the ready before spraying a few rounds into the windowsill. With quick reflexes the riflewoman took cover, pressing her back to the mangled wall as she racked the bolt. Rapunzel recoiled from the comotion, taking a step back from the window. Cassandra on the other hand stayed calm, and breathed out slowly before pressing her rifle against the wall, just out of sight of the window. The woman pulled her eyes to the iron sights, waiting for her chance, waiting for one of those men to cross her line of fire. 

The two gunmen kept firing for a moment before a silence fell. Whether they were reloading, or they had run away, the encounter made Rapunzel’s chest tighten with anxiety, her breath sharpening as the moments passed. Cass breathed out slowly, waiting, watching. One of the Soporian soldiers crossed her vision before she fired once more, a Soparian man collapsed where he stood as a hole cleaved through his chest. 

The commotion that was there died down, a silence in the street as shouting echoed throughout the distant gunfire. Cassandra peered from her window slowly, taking in the street with an eagle's eye. 

“This is our chance”

Cassandra said, pulling out a stripper clip and pushing it down into her rifle.

‘Seven’

She mouthed to herself, making a mental note on how my shots she had before taking a step to the door, Rapunzel right behind her. 

The duo fled to the street, a quickened pace in their strides as they hugged the walls of buildings. They were having a good time, thankfully it seemed that their forces were keeping the Saporians on the outskirts of the town, but how long would that last? A rogue artillery shell blasted through the wall of a house behind them, rumble being flung through the streat, a ringing in Rapunzel’s ears began to grow.

Cassandra skidded to a halt, throwing an arm out across the Princess. The sounds of boots began to clank on the cobblestone road, and by her guess, it was a lot of men. Maybe it was Coronian, or better yet, the forces from Great Britain, but she knew that was too good to be true. A crowded group of Saporians came into view, ten for what she counted, and armed to the teeth. Not good.

Cassandra grasped Rapunzel’s wrist tightly, pulling her into an alleyway with quick steps. Cass was confident in her marksmanship, but there were just too many, even for her to handle.

“Let’s let them pass”

She softly said, pushing into the alleyway more, Rapunzel to her rear as she kept her eyes on the road. A new sound pierced their ears, it was odd, having no place in a warzone. Crying. But it wasn’t a child, it was much deeper. Cassandra’s gaze shot around, gun drawn as she looked closer at the darkened area. Sitting on a pile of rubble was a Saporian soldier. A young boy, it seemed, fresh from the draft. It broke Rapunzel’s heart to see him like this, no one should see the world like this, especially at such a young age.

Cassandra didn’t carry such sentiments. She pulled the rifle to her shoulder, and rested her cheek on the rest. The Princess gasped loudly, putting a hand on her shoulder. 

“He is /just/ a boy!”

Rapunzel desperately said under a hushed voice. He was clearly in no condition to fight, or even want to live for that matter. 

“-He did not chose this war”

Cassandra sighed heavily, rolling her eyes. She hated it, but Rapunzel was right, no matter how much her instincts told her otherwise. 

“Fine”

She said under gritted teeth, bringing her gun down. The raven locked woman glared at the boy before turning her attention to Rapunzel. 

“Then let's keep quiet. Those men should be passing any moment now-”

BANG

“AUgH-”

Cassandra recoiled, clutching her side as the ringing of gunfire echoed. Her snarl of a gaze fell onto the boy as she fell, a pistol aimed in her direction. The Saporian had tears strained on his cheek still, and a whimper in his voice, but he still pulled the trigger once again. 

Click

His firearm was empty

Cassandra pulled her rifle to her cheek without hesitation, and pulled the trigger. Another loud bang echoed as his forehead exploded. 

“Cassandra!”

Rapunzel harshly called out, clutching her friend.

“Damn you and your morale”

Her Advisor said under gritted teeth, clutching her side as blood began to stain her clothes. She was stable, but Cassandra knew she needed medical attention and fast. 

“Cass im- im sorry”

Rapunzel said in a horace tone, taking Cassandra's coat off. She balled it up and pressed it on the wound, her hands shaking. 

“Its-...”

Cassandra sighed and shook her head

“Nothing. You need to leave me, GO. You are way more important”

“That’s not true, Cassandra. We can get you out of here”

There was a commotion on the street, the soldiers from before heard the stray rounds in the alleyway, and were coming to investigate. Cassandra sharply gasped as she tried to pull the gun to her, pain shooting from the wound and up her arm, it was almost numbing. The woman breathed heavily before she tried once again. 

But she never succeeded, the brunette woman took the rifle from her hands, an ashamed look in the Princess’ eyes. 

“What are you…”

Cassandra meekly said with worried eyes.

“Cassandra. /This/ is my fault”

Rapunzel softly said as her hand grasped the charging handle, tears burning her eyes. 

“...I need to fix it”

She struggled to pull the bolt back, the emptied cartridge falling to the ground as she racked the bolt forward. She didn’t put enough force behind it, needing to tap it once more before it was seeded, her blood stained palms imprinting on the wood.

“They’ll kill you!”

Cassandra exclaimed before recoiling from the pain in her side, her coat dampening with blood. 

“ We did not fight so hard , only to lose everything now”

Rapunzel said with resolve, turning her back to Cassandra as she face the end of the alleyway

“Corona…. /I/ can’t lose you, Rapunzel”

The raven locked woman cried out behind tearful eyes, but the Princess did not answer. Rapunzel simply put the weapon up to her shoulder, the weight making it slightly hard to level out.

“..and I can’t lose you, Cass”

She softly said as a Saporian soldier crossed into the alleyway.  
The brunette aimed and pulled the trigger, the gun almost kicking out of her hands. Thankfully, her aim was better than her hands, the man falling to his knees dead. Rapunzel rested the stock of the heavy rifle on her knee as she racked the bolt, bringing it back to her shoulder shakingly. 

Two men darted into the alley way, their machine guns drawn, the woman hesitated for a moment before pulling the trigger once more. She wasn’t used to the recoil still, closing her eyes as it kicked up, the round ricocheted off the roof behind them.

Rapunzel hurriedly went to rack the bolt back, but the increasing anxiety and shortness of breath kept making her fumble, and fumble. The Soldiers returned fire, a riddle of bullets stringing down the alleyway. 

The rifle fell to the ground with a clank, sliding over to a mortified Cassandra. 

Rapunzel was dazed, her soft green hues slowly looking down to find her chest with a sizable hole bored through it. She tried to scream, to yell from the pain, but the only thing that left her lips was a sharp iron taste as blood rolled out. The Princess fell to her knees, and slept over onto the cobblestone, bleeding out. 

Cassandra tried her best to yell, but only hot air came out, a silent scream as she pulled out her pistol, firing rounds down at the Saporians. Her aim was off, obstructed by pain and rage, but some rounds stayed true and found their targets. Both men took fatal wounds to the head before falling over

“-rAPUNZEL”

She shouted, her words gruff with distraught. Anger overcame Cassandra as she swiped the rifle before returning fire, yelling as she ended the two men with extreme accuracy. She was in pain, but the adrenaline kept her moving. Though tears began to swell in her eyes as she limply crawled to the princess, streaming down her cheeks. Her trembling hands cupped the Princess’ cheeks, pulling her head to face her. Those lifeless eyes rolling ever so slightly to the side.

“Raps- come on Raps…. I didn’t mean /go/ like this”

She cried, rocking slightly, wrapping her arms around those limp shoulders, pulling the Princess tightly into a hug

“Wake up…. Please…”


End file.
